Coatings are applied to the surfaces of many products for various reasons. Some coatings are used to lubricate moving parts or reduce glare on optical lenses. Other coatings protect against rust and corrosion while still others are applied purely for decoration. Paint is one example of a coating widely in use today. Typically, paint is applied to a substrate and includes components that cure or harden to form a thin layer of film. Advances over the past few decades have produced paint products that significantly extend the life of a painted article by reducing the effects of corrosion due to ambient conditions.
In many instances, paint consists of multiple components that must be combined prior to its application onto the substrate. In many cases, the components are reactive components (e.g. in solutions or dispersions), which are mixed together and react with each other in a crosslinking reaction to provide a curable coating composition. Up until the point of mixing, none of the individual components alone provides a curable coating composition. Typically, upon mixing, such multi-component coatings react and cure quickly. Thus, it is beneficial to mix the components together and apply the paint to a substrate soon after mixing. Paint may also consist of other ingredients, including but not limited to pigments, solvents catalysts, adhesion promoters, and UV light absorbers. Each of these ingredients can be used to impart various desired properties to the paint composition.
It is an important factor in using multi-component coatings that the components of the coating be mixed in precise quantities, i.e. at predefined ratios. As such, the process of mixing paint requires careful attention on the part of the operator. It may also be important to gauge how much paint is needed for a specific application. Mixing the right amount of paint can minimize material waste and cost.